FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Pasadena Symphony Association Pasadena Symphony & POPS Contact: Marisa McCarthy [email protected] (626) 793-7172 ext. 13 June 17, 2020 PASADENA POPS RESIDENT POPS CONDUCTOR LARRY BLANK HOSTS VIDEO PODCAST WITH STARS FROM BROADWAY, TV AND FILM POPScast premieres Saturday, June 20 with special guest Michael Feinstein Pasadena, CA – The Pasadena POPS and Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank are pleased to announce POPScast, a weekly video podcast featuring a star-studded line-up of POPS performers, composers, musicians and all who make the music happen. POPScast premieres this Saturday, June 20 at 7:30pm on what would have been opening night for the Sierra Summer POPS Series, and will run throughout the summer. POPScast will add to the Pasadena Symphony and POPS portfolio of digital offerings, which include the Pasadena Symphony’s In Conversation Podcast and the Play at Home with the POPS archival series. A three-time Tony-nominated Broadway conductor and orchestrator, Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank will host the new POPScast series with multiple award-winning stars from Broadway, television and film, including Marc Shaiman, Luci Arnaz, Cady Huffman, Anita Gillette, Laurence Guittard, Valerie Perri, Ron Raines and Karen Ziemba. Hear behind-the- scenes stories and get up close and personal with the stars you’ve loved seeing on the POPS stage. POPScast debuts Saturday, June 20th with Larry sitting down with Principal Pops Conductor Michael Feinstein to discuss the inner-workings of the Pasadena POPS orchestra. Make it a night and order dinner from Pasadena POPS restaurant partners Claud & Co and Julienne, who are offering special menus to enjoy with the POPScast. Diners should check their websites frequently to enjoy the summer feel at home. Episodes will premiere weekly, on Saturday at 7:30pm on the Pasadena POPS website, pasadenasymphony-pops.org, on the Pasadena POPS YouTube channel - /ThePasadenaSymphony and Facebook page - /pasadenasymphonypops. Past episodes will also be available on-demand at these three locations. ABOUT THE PASADENA SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION Recent Acclaim for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS: “The Pasadena Symphony signals a new direction…teeming with vitality...dripping with opulent, sexy emotion.” – Los Angeles Times. “In his five years leading the PSO, Lockington has taken an ensemble that was already quite good and elevated it into one where excellence is the byword.” – Pasadena Star News. Formed in 1928, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS is an ensemble of Hollywood’s most talented, sought after musicians. With extensive credits in the film, television, recording and orchestral industry, the artists of Pasadena Symphony and POPS are the most heard in the world. The Pasadena Symphony and POPS performs in two of the most extraordinary venues in the United States: Ambassador Auditorium, known as the Carnegie Hall of the West, and the luxuriant Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Internationally recognized, Grammy- nominated conductor, David Lockington, serves as the Pasadena Symphony Association’s Music Director, with performance-practice specialist Nicholas McGegan serving as Principal Guest Conductor. The multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award- nominated entertainer dubbed “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook,” Michael Feinstein, is the Principal Pops Conductor, who succeeded Marvin Hamlisch in the newly created Marvin Hamlisch Chair. A hallmark of its robust education programs, the Pasadena Symphony Association has served the youth of the region for over five decades through the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO), comprised of five performing ensembles with 300 gifted 4th-12th grade students from more than 50 schools all over the Southern California region. The PYSO has toured internationally at prestigious venues in New York, Vienna, and most recently San Jose, Costa Rica. They regularly perform throughout Southern California and have appeared on the popular television show GLEE. The PSA provides people from all walks of life with powerful access points to the world of symphonic music. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Larry Blank Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank is one of the most prolific and sought-after composers, conductors, and orchestrators in the entertainment business today. His work has been presented all over the world, including some of Broadway’s most successful musicals, Carnegie Hall, and top television and film projects. He was the Music Director/Conductor and/or vocal arranger for many shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles including They're Playing Our Song, Evita, Sugar Babies, La Cage Aux Folles, Phantom Of The Opera, Onward Victoria, Copperfield, Colette, A Chorus Line and A Little Night Music. He has been nominated three times for both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his orchestrations in The Drowsy Chaperone, Irving Berlin's White Christmas and with Marc Shaiman for Catch Me If You Can. Larry received a Drama Desk Nomination for orchestrations for A Christmas Story. Larry contributed to the orchestrations for both the stage and film production of The Producers, the film Chicago and is a regular conductor and arranger for BBC RADIO 2 Friday Night Is Music Night in the UK. Larry is also the Music Supervisor and Orchestrator (along with Mark Cumberland) for the Olivier Awards in London. Blank has worked with top talent from varied fields of the entertainment world, notably as personal conductor to Michael Crawford. He has also worked with Michael Feinstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Bernadette Peters, Kelsey Grammar, Christine Baranski, Roberta Flack, Pete Fountain, Peabo Bryson, Sally Kellerman, Nancy Dussault, Marc Shaiman, Jerry Herman, Ann- Margaret, Davis Gaines, Bette Midler, George Benson, Placido Domingo, Randy Newman, Trisha Yearwood, Tom Scott, Quincy Jones, Michael Bolton, John Raitt and Diana Rigg. Blank’s background includes orchestrating and arranging songs for South Park and was Music Supervisor and Orchestrator for Jerry Herman’s movie, Mrs. Santa Claus starring Angela Lansbury and Charles Durning. Some of the films he lent his talent to include The Kid, Kiss The Girls, The American President, Forget Paris, City Slickers II, The Net, That¹s Entertainment III, North, I¹d Do Anything, and Stuart Saves His Family. Blank’s music can be heard on the animated feature films, Cats Don’t Dance and All Dogs Go To Heaven as well as the 101 Dalmatians Christmas Special. Mr. Blank’s television work includes orchestrating and composing music for several of the Grammy Awards and Academy Award shows as well as numerous television movies and shows. Most recently Larry orchestrated and conducted FX's Fosse/Verdon and Dolly Parton's latest project Christmas On The Square for Warner Brothers. Mr. Blank has guest conducted most of the orchestras throughout the world, including The San Francisco Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Palm Beach Pops, Auckland Symphony, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Symphony, New Orleans Symphony and Toronto. Michael Feinstein Principal Pops Conductor Michael Feinstein has built a dazzling career over the last three decades bringing the music of the Great American songbook to the world. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Emmy nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed NPR series and concerts spanning the globe – in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as The White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House – his work as an educator and archivist define Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time. In 2007, he founded the Great American Songbook Foundation, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it through educational programs, Master Classes, and the annual High School Songbook Academy. This summer intensive open to students from across the country has produced graduates who have gone on to record acclaimed albums and appear on television programs such as NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” Michael serves on the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Board, an organization dedicated to ensuring the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America’s sound recording heritage. The most recent album from his multi-platinum recording career is A Michael Feinstein Christmas from Concord Records. The CD features Grammy Award -winning jazz pianist Alan Broadbent (Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole). Feinstein earned his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 2009 for The Sinatra Project, his CD celebrating the music of “Ol’ Blue Eyes.” The Sinatra Project, Volume II: The Good Life was released in 2011. He released the CDs The Power Of Two – collaborating with “Glee” and “30 Rock” star Cheyenne Jackson – and Cheek To Cheek, recorded with Broadway legend Barbara Cook. For Feinstein’s CD We Dreamed These Days, he co-wrote the title song with Dr. Maya Angelou. His Emmy Award-nominated TV special Michael Feinstein – The Sinatra Legacy, which was taped live at the Palladium in Carmel, IN, aired across the country in 2011. The PBS series “Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook,” the recipient of the ASCAP Deems-Taylor Television Broadcast Award, was broadcast for three seasons and is available on DVD. His most recent primetime PBS-TV Special, “New Year’s Eve at The Rainbow Room” – written and directed by “Desperate Housewives”